Trump thwarts House Democrats’ effort to obtain documents related to the 2020 census citizenship question; the Ebola outbreak spreads from the DRC to Uganda.

Trump blocks another congressional subpoena

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

President Donald Trump has asserted executive privilege over documents subpoenaed by Congress that were related to adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census. [CNN / Clare Foran and Lauren Fox]

The House Oversight Committee went ahead and voted to hold Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt only hours after. [NBC News / Rebecca Shabad and Alex Moe]

A day before, Barr bad threatened the committee, saying he would ask Trump to exert his presidential powers to protect the documents. In a letter to the committee announcing the assertion earlier this morning, the Justice Department called the contempt vote “unnecessary and premature.” [Washington Post / Matt Zapotosky and John Wagner]

Democrats have been trying to crack down on the citizenship question because of concerns that it will reduce response rates among noncitizens, which could lead to a disproportionate advantage for Republicans when drawing congressional maps. [Politico / Andrew Desiderio]

New documents from a now-deceased Republican strategist also suggested that the addition of a citizenship question would “be advantageous to Republicans and non-Hispanic whites” when drawing voting districts. [NYT / Charlie Savage and Julie Hirschfeld Davis]

Trump has already vowed to “fight all subpoenas” issued by Congress, and the standoff suggests further escalation between the legislative and executive branch. [AP / Michael Balsamo and Matthew Daly]

An outbreak crosses borders

Ebola, which was spreading rapidly but contained within the Democratic Republic of Congo, has now spread to Uganda. [BBC]

A 5-year-old Congolese boy who traveled to Uganda died from the disease on Wednesday. The boy’s younger brother and grandmother have also tested positive for Ebola. [NPR / Bill Chappell]

The DRC has been suffering from the second-largest and second-deadliest Ebola outbreak in history since it began in August. More than 1,300 have died. [CNN / Katie Hunt and Brent Swails]

Uganda had been preparing itself for this moment: About 4,700 health workers have been vaccinated in 165 health facilities, and Ebola treatment centers have already been set up. [Vox / Julia Belluz]

The epidemic still remains dangerous, however, as preventive measures have proved ineffective. Rwanda, which borders both Uganda and the DRC, has announced it will tighten border surveillance. [New Times / James Karuhanga]

There’s now more pressure on the World Health Organization to declare the outbreak a global health emergency — something it had avoided doing until now because the disease had not yet spread to other countries. [NYT / Rick Gladstone]

An expert committee will meet on Friday to discuss whether to make the emergency declaration for this epidemic, which shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. [Al Jazeera]

Miscellaneous

Is bigger actually better? A recent paper suggests the growing size of houses in the US isn’t making people any happier. [Atlantic / Joe Pinsker]

Six American tourists have died mysteriously in the Dominican Republic this year. Now the Caribbean island’s reputation as a tourist destination is taking a hit. [Washington Post / Rachelle Krygier]

A blast to the past: This Utah-based company is offering to pay someone $1,000 to downgrade to a flip phone for a week. [UPI / Ben Hooper]

HBO’s miniseries Chernobyl has turned the location of the 1986 nuclear disaster into a hot spot for influencers. The creator of the show implored visitors to “comport yourselves with respect.” [NBC News / Daniel Arkin]

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